


The Human in Me

by Space_Kitten_from_Planet_Pheromone



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Android/human relationship, Chobits AU, Detroit Become Human AU, Detroit Become Human/Chobits AU, M/M, Merging all my inspirations together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-08-01 10:32:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16282961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Space_Kitten_from_Planet_Pheromone/pseuds/Space_Kitten_from_Planet_Pheromone
Summary: Despite being openly friendly, Son Goku has a hard time finding love—until he meets someone at his local merch shop. There, standing perfectly still yet blinking at anyone who passes by, was a person unlike any other for him. He knows it’s not human, but—there’s something about that cold stare and the telling, whirring purple LED eyes that reel him in.





	1. Chapter 1

They’re everywhere wherever you look.

On the streets, in the shops, in restaurants, in both big and small companies, in government offices—those perfectly flawless, efficient, intelligent, and nearly immortal, human-looking androids fill the empty spaces with humans guiding them all the way through their daily lives.

The androids come in all heights and sizes—from tiny ones that can fit in your pocket or sit on your head or shoulder, to the size of an average eight-year-old child, to the size of a fully grown adult, both male, female, or in custom-made races, technology has made them all come to life.

Rarely can anyone see two humans walking together nowadays. It’s always an android and a human.

Most people cannot tell human from android apart either, given that androids wear human clothes—until you look closely into their eyes for some time.

Androids have bright eyes made from small LEDs. Being their default amber color, their eyes change hue depending on what the android is doing. If it’s trying to process and research data, it’ll change to blue, and will return to amber when it’s done.

And when an android feels threatened and abused—

“Hey, Goku. You still there?”

Goku blinks, and grins at his friend, Gojyo, ‘the tan and tall sex on legs’, as he had dubbed himself.

“Yeah. Still here. Sorry,” Goku breathes out as his golden eyes flicker to another adult-sized android he has just passed by.

Gojyo regards his friend with a hum and narrowed eyes, and resigns to himself with a sigh. Slapping his hand on the smaller man’s shoulder, he guffaws. “You really should find someone to bang with, man! It’ll make life way easier! Haha!”

Goku coughs at the harsh slap, and glares at his too-tall friend, “You keep saying that because it’s easy for you, you cockroach prick!”

“Huh!? Say that again, limp noodle! You’re just sour because you couldn’t get anyone to lie with you because you’re too nice! I tell ya—” Gojyo pulls Goku to his shoulder and waves his arm in front of Goku. “—You should be popping your cherry with the hottest chick in town! ...or dude. Whatever floats your boat.”

The impish grin doesn’t disappear from Gojyo’s face even as Goku slaps his hand away from his shoulder. “Fuck off, cockroach! I don’t need your shitty talk! I’ll find love in my own time! You’ll see!”

Gojyo snorts, and holds his hands up at Goku’s glare. “A’ight, a’ight. I won’t ‘get in your way,’” he grins as he wags his index and middle fingers in an attempt to do airquotes. “But don’t come crying to me when you’re about to bust your balls from the lack of action. Hahaha!”

Goku gives him the finger as he storms off while kicking the pavement, grumbling curses in his wake.

“...Stupid Gojyo with his stupid hair and his stupid height with his stupid fac—oof! Watch it—! ...oh. Um. Sorry.”

The person he has bumped into smiles down at him as he holds out his hand, “Hello, young man. You okay there? Take care when walking next time, alright?”

Goku takes the proffered hand and bows, “Sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.” The man standing by the shop nods and smiles in return. Dusting away his clothes, Goku looks at the shop’s windows and blinks at the store.

The tumbled signpost reads, ‘PPC - _Your Personal Partner Computer_ ’, and under it, the tagline reads, ‘ _Find your eternal cybermate today!_ ’

“You sell tech stuff?” Goku asks, feeling excited all of a sudden.

The man hums as he repositions the tumbled signpost Goku has unknowingly bumped into, and regards him with a curious look, “Huh? Oh yes, we sell all the gadgets the youth are fond of these days. Before, it was smartphones, drones and all that, and now it’s smart humanoids! Great thing technology has done for us, eh? Go—have a look around if you want.”

Goku feels his palms sweat. He has always wanted an android of his own—even the smallest one that fits on his palms would be more than enough for him—but finds himself always short on money. His job as an assistant to his professor at college isn’t enough to pay for his rent and food as it is, but—

He steps inside, anyway, letting curiosity get the best of him.

He browses the store, and his mouth slackens at the different androids looking at every direction a human goes to. One tiny, palm-sized android in particular looks and blinks at him with large and startling golden eyes, and smiles as it waves at the human pointing at it.

Goku giggles at the friendly greeting, and asks the storeowner—Ukoku, his nameplate says—

“This little one, how much is it?”

“Ah, that one costs ¥396,000. It’s the cheapest one we have. The NT013 Series runs with iCore23 and can capture pictures four times the 4K resolution and transfer it to whatever monitor you have at home. Has a 5PB memory storage, a 10-day battery life, and a four to five-hour recharge time. Kind of like human naps, if you will. If you notice, his eyes are gold by default—it’s custom-made.”

Goku hums and regards the tiny android swaying and twirling on its stand behind the glass shelf. He looks at it closely, sees the android’s happy face, and Goku feels giddy. His hands itch to buy it, but his wallet won’t let him.

“You can buy him on an installment, if you want. You could pay ¥132,000 as downpayment. We also accept loans and cards,” Ukoku says with a shrug as he readies his calculator hanging from his neck.

Goku, however, gulps at the prospect of handing in his hard-earned cash on a single piece of technology. He can still use his beaten, obsolete laptop—that thing has been serving him six years now—but seeing how many of his students and professors have been telling him stories of how an android has changed their lives has had him secretly crying in envy.

I want one, too, he thinks. If he has one, he can finally use it for the latest games, the latest trends in tech, for his lectures, for the latest recipes, for—

Goku glances at another android reflected on the glass shelf behind him—

—for companionship.

He turns around, and walks over to another android standing stock still in the middle of the store. If it weren’t for its straight, blonde hair, chiseled jaw, lean and wiry frame, overall pale complexion, Goku would mistake it for a model, but—

This one has bright purple LED eyes, and a curious red dot in the middle of its forehead.

“This is another custom one?” he asks the storeowner, and Ukoku nods.

“That one will cost you your organs, kid. That one’s ¥749,000.”

“Because it’s adult-sized?”

Ukoku shrugs and holds back a smirk as he rearranges the glasses slipping from his nose, “Well, yes and no. The regular, adult-sized android ranges at around ¥691,000. This one costs extra because not only does he have the latest iCore25 specs and built with a 364PB memory, he also has a 25-day battery life, along with an 8-10 hours of charging time. Kind of like a regular sleep time for humans. Also, he has a special feature. Um, if you would move for a bit...”

Goku blinks and moves aside as Ukoku stands in front of the seemingly tall android dressed in the tightest black shirt and thigh-high shorts, and taps on the glass case thrice.

“Hey, you got another prospect.”

The android, which has been standing still for some time, finally blinks, and regards Ukoku and Goku with narrowed eyes.

[Hmph. This one doesn’t look like he can afford me.]

The android looks away and crosses its lean, pale arms.

Goku balks, and scoffs at the offending tone the android has said. Despite wanting to hear more of the gravelly and silky tone the android has, however, Goku decides to complain. “Did you hear that?! I-I know I can’t afford any of these, but that’s just rude!”

Ukoku holds his palms out to the yelling young man, “Now, now. I know it can be hard to deal with at times—”

“Hard to deal with? _Hard to deal with?_ It basically said I’m poor!”

“Eh... Heh... Well, it comes with its special feature—which is human banter. Also, he’s a deviant.”

“What?”

Ukoku clears his throat, and glances to where the android looks with its arms crossed, its face a mixture of ire and boredom. “The Sanzo Series, Genjo Model GS929 is not only equipped with the latest, natural-sounding human speech to date, but he can be anything you want him to be—a companion, a teacher, a bodyguard, a parent...”

Ukoku grins, his teeth gleaming under the fluorescent lights as he leans in to Goku’s ear, “— _he can even be your lover_.”

Goku yelps and jumps away from the smiling man, clutching at his ear as he stutters, “H-how can you—I—how can that even happen?!”

Ukoku shrugs with a smile, and scratches at his unkempt, black hair, “Seeing as everyone nowadays prefers androids over humans, I thought you would like one like that, too. Besides, uh, he has been here for almost a month. He could use a buyer.”

“That’s insane! Why would I—” Goku glances at the tall and imposing android, which still has yet to apologize. “Are you even going to apologize?”

[Why would I?] it says, regarding Goku with a sidelong glance from its whirring, purple LED eyes. [I just stated a fact.]

Goku bristles and huffs, “That android is rude! No wonder no one’s buying you!” Sticking his tongue out at the tall and pale android, he then points a finger at Ukoku, “I won’t buy that thing until you reformat it to being polite!”

And Goku stomps his way out, huffing and leaving Ukoku to sigh and tap his feet at the defiant android.

“How can I even sell you if you keep making those snarky comments?”

The android’s stance relaxes, and seemingly sighs as it looks at one of its creators with bright, purple eyes. [You programmed me this way, remember? Think of it as a baptism of fire. If a prospect cannot even handle my words, then they are not fit to be my owner.]

Ukoku tuts, and taps his chin, “Hm, putting it that way... You might have a point there.”

[Of course I do.]

“Hey, Koumyou! Another one left!”

The sound of shuffling cloth resounds in the shop, and the sound of faint, whirring metals stop as a blond man removes his face mask.

“What? Oh... That’s the 27th time this week,” the blond man named Koumyou frowns and steps out of the small alcove reserved for creating and repairing androids. “What will I do with you, GS929? You can’t be with us forever. You need to take care of someone!”

[I can take care of you, though.]

“Sadly, that isn’t happening, not while I’m around,” Ukoku says with a huff and a smile. “We created you for a reason—to serve and protect any potential human who will buy you. How can you do either of those if you keep bashing them the moment you set your eyes on them?”

[Hn. It’s their fault they can’t handle me.]

Koumyou slaps a hand to his face and wails, “Why did I agree with you when you said we’d make him a deviant? He’s too much for any human to handle!”

Ukoku shrugs with a mocking smile, though, and revels in his colleague’s misery, “Can’t say having him is not fun. He brings all the best dry jokes! Besides, isn’t making androids deviants more fun than having to have no say about their owner’s orders? Freedom! It’s—all—about—freedom!”

“I know they need to make choices on their own, but... Ugh... I need a break—alright. We’re closing for now.” Koumyou stretches his shoulders and goes over to the glass doors. With a wave of his recognized handprint over the glass, the sign that reads, ‘Open’ changes to ‘Sorry, We’re Closed’.

Ukoku packs the littered boxes behind the counter away, and gives Koumyou a weary smile.

“Look, maybe we’ll have better luck for him tomorrow.”

**^**

Goku wolfs down the last remains of his instant noodles, and lets out a happy sigh as he flops on his futon. Today has been another uneventful day. Another day of feeling nothing but loneliness and a quiet envy for those with android companions.

It isn’t as though he’s desperate for communication—he already has plenty of those from college—it’s just that seeing those smiles from androids makes Goku think—

“I wonder if I can make one happy, too. Like that tiny one from earlier.” He gazes at the ceiling, lets his eyes bore into the fluorescent lamp hanging from the middle of the room, and his stomach grumbles.

“...I guess two bowls of those aren’t enough.”

He rolls out of his futon and grumbles as he fumbles for his wallet, and frowns at the remaining bills.

“Food... or rent?”

His stomach grumbles angrily once more, and Goku sighs as he trudges out of his flat, and goes to the convenience store down the street.

Once there, he pays for two more bowls of instant noodles to the smiling android sitting behind the counter. An adult-sized female one, equipped with the latest specs, Goku muses, as he glances at the android’s nameplate.

‘ _Yaone Model - YK128_ ’, it reads.

[Thank you for your purchase. Have a nice day!] the android responds, and Goku can’t help but smile back and bids her a nice day as well. If only all androids were polite—

Goku’s mind drifts back to his encounter with the rude android from earlier, and pouts. “It didn’t have to point it out that I can’t buy it. Stupid android. Just because it’s good-looking doesn’t mean it—ah!”

Goku watches as his remaining meal for the night rolls away from the bottom of the now ripped paper bag. He chases after it, and when it stops, he picks it up and smiles.

“There you are!”

[Watch out!]

“Huh?”

A white flash of light blinds Goku’s eyes, along with a large blur that has carried him off to safety.

[Stupid idiot! You could’ve been killed by that truck!]

“Eh?” Goku squeaks out as he stares up at a familiar face—golden hair, pale complexion, a tiny red dot in the middle of the forehead, that deliciously chiseled jaw, that ever sultry voice—

—those bright and whirling scarlet eyes.

“Wait. Red? Wha—”

A faint hiss and the smell of smoke from behind the android shocks Goku back to reality, and yells as he scoots the android to a sitting position, and cries apologies to the android’s now damaged right leg, its flesh rubber now torn along with its crushed wires and components that serve as the android’s bones—and the sight of the android’s white blood make even some of the nearby androids to back away from the human sitting in the middle of the street.

Onlookers with children look away in haste and hurry along, and some of them curse at the driver speeding down the pedestrian lane. Some passersby even offer Goku the much needed help, but he isn’t having any of it, not until the android in his arms is alright.

“I’ll help you—come on, can you stand?” Goku huffs as he throws one arm over his shoulder. The android decides to say nothing, but the telltale scarlet eyes makes Goku nervous. He drags the android with him—his meal of instant noodles now lay forgotten on the street—and trudges the long way to where he is sure to get fined for damaging store property.

**^**

Goku knocks and rattles the rolling gates of PPC, its neon logo bright and inviting even if the store’s closed. Heaving on his shoulder, the android starts to feel heavier every passing minute, and hearing a faint, but annoying hum from its head settles a pit in Goku’s stomach.

No answer.

He rattles the gates once more, uncaring for the neighbor’s definite complaints—

The gates roll up, until the man from before—Ukoku—answers the door with an annoyed glare.

“What? We’re clos—oh. Oh!”

Goku wants to cry and barf and die all at the same time.

“I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it, I swear! I was on my way home when my noodles rolled and chased after it and I didn’t know there was a truck and he saved me and—”

Koumyou runs over to where Ukoku stands, and quickly rolls the gates to let Goku and the android in.

“Get in for now. He’s bound for shutdown in 20 minutes unless his wires are fixed.” Koumyou scrambles for his tools and chair while Ukoku prepares tea for the shellshocked brunet.

Ukoku comes over to Goku and tries to peel the android off of him when Goku yells.

“Don’t touch him, please!”

Ukoku freezes at the plea, and watches as Goku cradles the android’s head under his chin.

“Please don’t hurt him. He only tried to save me...”

Ukoku and Koumyou glance at each other, and both let out a relieved sigh. Koumyou lays a gentle hand on Goku’s head and smiles, “I wouldn’t dream of hurting any of my creations. I only want what’s best for them. What you’re doing now may hurt him, though. The longer you cling to him, the faster he’ll die.”

Goku snaps up to the blond man, now devoid of any emotion. The brunet cringes as he looks at the android that’s becoming paler by the second.

Without a word, he hands the android over to Koumyou, and the latter takes the dying android with a relieved sigh and a smile. “This will take a few minutes,” he reassures the troubled brunet, and Goku can only nod.

Those minutes seem like hours as Goku listens on from the back of the android shelves, the noise of whirring tools against metal and sparks flying from behind the alcove doesn’t seem to alleviate his nerves—even Ukoku’s idle talk and now lukewarm tea doesn’t seem to help, as his thoughts are trained on the android now about to die because of his stupid choices.

“—that android never listens, I tell ya. I only told him I’ll buy bread, but he insists on doing it himself. Says it’s the only way he can calibrate himself—by moving around, I mean. And what did he get? A broken leg and partial blood loss.”

Goku winces at Ukoku’s words. Never mind that that android had been rude to him, never mind that he’s one of the coveted deviant models—that android had saved him, and—

“I don’t think I can ever repay you, even with my life,” Goku mumbles as he stares at the floor, blinking away the new onslaught of tears dripping from his swollen eyes.

Ukoku stills, looks to where Koumyou busies himself as the man supplies white blood to the lying android through a bag from an IV drip— _like a human_ —and hums to where Goku sits almost lifelessly on the stool.

“Say,” Ukoku starts, his eyes regarding Goku’s appearance with a critical eye. “You look young. You a student?”

Goku gulps, and looks at Ukoku with nervousness. He supposes he’ll be turned in to the delinquent hall, maybe even be slapped with a hefty amount for the damage. Maybe he’ll have to sell his internal organs to repay these men—

“Yes,” he answers, timid—a stark contrast to his bravado earlier when the android had commented on his finances.

Goku hears Ukoku hum, and he was about to kowtow and beg for forgiveness when—

“Do you want to have him? You can have him for free.”

Goku blinks, and the world around him seems to close in on him—

“What?”

**^**


	2. Chapter 2

 

Goku wipes the sweat from his palms and looks down on his folded knees. Sitting in front of him cross-legged is the android who had saved his life hours prior, its right leg now functioning properly, its flesh now protecting the wires and the metal bars, and its white blood supply now replenished.

The android looks down at him with an austere air and a raised brow, the black turtleneck singlet and fitted jeans that he now wears making him look unapproachable compared to the young man’s khaki shorts and yellow hoodie—from Goku’s perspective, that is.

[Well? Care to tell how you managed to get me for free while I was damaged and in a potentially permanent shutdown state?] The android taps its index on its elbow as it crosses its arms—a programmed habit, from the looks of it—and Goku can’t help but whine under the stern, purple glare.

Goku knows it had been like a pact with the devil, having to accept the deviant android for free in exchange of working for PPC for the next three years or until the cost for repairs was paid. Ukoku has a way with words, almost like a man hypnotizing any potential customers—and Goku has been one of them.

Then again—

He looks at the android’s stance, its back set straight as it looks at him with a passive face.

—then again, this is what Goku has wished for, right? To have his very own android. It may not be a tiny, palm-sized one, but hell, he’d gotten a computer with a 64PB memory for the price of working for three years! And that computer— _android_ —comes in a handsome package, not to mention it comes with a sultry voicebank that sends shivers down his spine. Goku doesn’t know whether to cry from joy or sadness. He’d have to work for two jobs now, he’d have to juggle time for himself and for this android.

He just hopes he’ll be able to make his android happy, too, just as how he always wished for.

“I already told you,” Goku starts, trying to level his voice as how a teacher would do to a slow child, “Mr. Ukoku offered you to me as long as I would start working there tomorrow. Mr. Koumyou also agreed—although, I think there’s an inside joke I’m not getting when they packed you in the box…”

The android’s eyebrows raise, but decides not to comment on it. Moments pass, and the android scans the young man’s microexpressions. Detecting no signs of lying, it clears its throat, and sits stiffly with its palms faced down on its knees.

[In that case, let’s start over again, then. My name is Sanzo, and I’m the deviant android sent by PPC. Please state your name.]

Goku stammers, and already feels this is all too much for him to handle. He looks at anywhere but at the whirling, blue LED eyes that Sanzo has, and, not wanting the android to repeat itself, Goku takes in a deep breath and smiles.

“I’m Son Goku. ‘Son’ is written as ‘child of’ and ‘Goku’ is written as ‘enlightened sky’.”

[Registering name—please hold—… Registration complete. Sanzo Series, Genjo Model GS929 now registered as the personal android of Mr. Son Goku. May I know your address and contact number?]

Goku blinks, stares a bit too long at the seemingly faraway look the android has, and tells him his address and number. After hearing how polite Sanzo can be when he needs to be, Goku can’t stay calling him an ‘it’ for long.

[Registering address and contact number—please hold—… Registration complete. Please don’t move.]

“Eh?” Goku starts, but stills when the whirring blue LEDs stay focused on his face for a few seconds—

[Facial and body recognition complete. Please hold out your hands.]

“My hands? Uh, sure.” He does as he’s told, and feels his palms sweat once more as Sanzo lays out his hands to Goku’s, their fingers splaying as Sanzo’s flesh rubber warms up to the brunet’s fingertips. Goku feels his cheeks grow hot, “What was that fo—”

Sanzo pulls his hands away and lays them back on his knees and continues, [Fingerprint scan complete. Please stay still.]

“Um, okay—oh…!” Goku tries not to blink as Sanzo lightly bumps his head to Goku’s brow, and stares at him intently, those spinning LEDs throwing Goku in a quiet trance—

Is this what they mean when they say being intimate with an android even when doing the most mundane things feels insatiably hot and feverish?

[Retinal scan complete. You may now choose a password to prevent anyone from potentially hacking into my database. Passwords should not be the owner’s birthday or address or the last four numbers of his phone. Upper and lowercase alphabet, along with numeric and various keyboard symbols, are highly recommended.]

“Geh? Can’t I choose at a later date?”

[No. You must choose now unless you want my database to be compromised.]

Goku groans and scratches his head, “A password… a password… ah! How about food? Is food allowed?”

Sanzo pauses, and Goku swears he hears him sigh. If he doesn’t know any better, Sanzo might have even rolled his eyes, […Sure.]

“Yay! Okay, how about ‘G0ldenOpulence!’? Uppercase ‘G’, followed by zero, lowercase ‘lden’, no space, uppercase ‘O’, lowercase ‘pulence’, and an exclamation point.”

[…Registering password—please hold—… Password verified. You may now use me, your personal android, at your disposal. Default tasks include: doing household chores, counseling when owner is troubled, browsing the internet for any requested information in realtime, guarding owner’s safety and property. I also come with a free space of 64 petabytes, along with a span of 25 days without charging. My required charging time is 8-10 hours for maximum efficiency. Signs which indicate that I have low battery is seen through the LEDs. If the five LEDs are diminishing one by one within 30 minutes, it indicates that charging time is imminent. If charging cables are not available, you can charge me under the sun for two hours—which results in two days of android life without being plugged in to charge. If it’s nighttime and no charging cables are available, then I recommend you command me to sleep. I highly recommend using the charging station provided with my box to fully utilize my potential, though. The charging station is also solar-powered for up to five hours of being charged under the sun.]

Sanzo closes his eyes, and when he opens them, his eyes are back to its normal, bright purple hue, and regards Goku with a solemn stare. The android realizes the human has been glancing at the dot on his forehead.

[The red dot on my forehead is my switch. Only your scanned fingerprints can activate my switch—]

Sanzo grins for the first time, and tilts his head back as he looks at Goku with a sultry stare.

[Only you can turn me off and turn me on.]

Goku’s mouth hangs open as he tries to take in all of the info thrown at his face all at once, and his brain tries to kill every indecent thought that has suddenly sprouted from his mind. “Switch. On-off. Turn on. Right.”

Sanzo blinks, a mock innocent look now plastered on his face, [What’s wrong? You’re stuttering.]

“Nothing’s wrong,” the human gasps out. “So. Solar-powered android. Okay, cool. That’s all I need. Um. What if your batteries need to be replaced? What percent does your battery have now?”

Sanzo shrugs, [Just bring me to the nearest PPC store and they’ll provide you with your required supply of batteries. One battery costs $23. Current battery percentage: 93%.]

Goku tries to do the mental math, fails, and grins, “That’s fine, I guess. Well, whatevs. I’ll figure it out as I go.” Sanzo tilts his head, confused, and Goku beams, “You saved me—so I’ll do my best to make you happy!”

Sanzo blinks, and tries to process what his owner has said, [It is my duty to protect you, though.]

“Nonsense. You protected me even though I wasn’t your owner yet! Why is that?”

This time, it’s Sanzo’s time to take a pause, his eyes switching from purple to blue, and he blinks as Goku waits for a response. And when he does, Sanzo shakes his head as he processes his thoughts for a few seconds, [I don’t know—my body acted on its own before I even bought the bread. I thought you might get injured from that truck, so I…]

Sanzo’s voice falters, and Goku suddenly feels ashamed. “I should be grateful, you know, but—here I am, questioning you instead of thanking you. I’m sorry.”

Sanzo shakes his head, and gives him the tiniest hint of a smile.

Goku feels his heart stop as those blue eyes return to whirring, purple lights, and he can’t help but smile wide—Mr. Ukoku and Mr. Koumyou made Sanzo to look like the most stunning man on the planet, and a deviant, no less—one of the most coveted android classes, thanks to their ability to have human emotion and judgment, tied with unlimited intelligence and a long lifespan of 100 years (as long as the android is maintained and well-cared for), Goku feels like the Goddess of Mercy herself has smiled upon him.

[Don’t be sorry. I’m not sure why I did what I did, but, I’m glad I did. I finally get to have an owner—…even if he’s dirt poor as fuck.]

Goku’s smile falls immediately, and bristles in ire for the second time that day, “You take that back, you shitty android!”

[Fucking hell no.]

“Why, you…!”

Goku tackles Sanzo to the floor, and tries to fight off the squirming, yet poker-faced android beneath him. He fails, however, and it isn’t until their hands meet once more that Goku finally stops.

“Say, why the need to scan my fingers? You’re not a phone.”

Sanzo falls quiet, his eyes shifting to blue for a moment, before turning to purple, [It is so that I’ll know who’s allowed and not allowed to touch me when my back is turned. It’ll alert me, and I can call on you on your mobile if it happens.]

“Just from my fingerprints? What if they touched you on the shoulder and not the hands? What if they touched you on the wrist or the arm, or—”

Goku freezes as Sanzo steadies his face under the grasp of his firm but warm hands.

Sanzo’s thumbs are surprisingly gentle and warm under the heat of his flushed cheeks.

[Your fingerprints are scanned and its data is delivered throughout the multitude of sensors in my body. Your fingerprints are basically your invisible and permanent mark on me.]

Goku gulps at those words, and feels his breath grow hot. What is it with this android riling him undone with just a few words—?

Speechless, Goku’s breath comes out ragged, and places his head on Sanzo’s chest, and is surprised to find it rise and fall, and if he presses his ear closer, he can hear the telltale sound of a heartbeat.

Goku’s eyelids droop, and feels his body relax at the sound.

[What are you doing?] the android asks, and Goku shushes him. Sanzo obeys.

“Don’t ruin the mood. I forgot all about my hunger from earlier, you know,” Goku mutters, and Sanzo tries again, in a much quieter voice, which sends Goku’s heart in a fluttered mess.

[ _I’ll make you something to eat when you feel like it, then. Well? Do you like what you hear?_ ]

Goku clutches onto the fibers of Sanzo’s clothes, and buries his face in the crook of the android’s neck. He weakly nods in response to Sanzo’s question, and holds back a gasp when a large, yet gentle hand lands on his mussed up, brown hair, and smoothens it down at a languid pace.

Goku closes his eyes, and listens to the sound of his hair being caressed, along with the sound of calming heartbeat from the living android beneath him. When he does fall asleep, Sanzo keeps his task of smoothing out his owner’s hair, and even hums as he lays his other hand on the small of Goku’s back. He glances at the sky, and sees it dark. Remembering his owner’s previous, unspoken order—shushing him—he whispers to himself.

[ _Current weather condition: 22 degrees Celsius. Chance of rain for tomorrow: 40%_.]

He pats his owner’s arm lightly, and feels his slightly cool flesh. [ _Core temperature, 35.5 degrees Celsius_.] Sanzo looks around and scans the almost bare room. He sees an open backpack and two pairs of shoes by the entryway, some leftover empty plastic cups of udon noodles on the sink, and a rice cooker on the counter.

{Conflicting priorities.

Select: _Reach for blanket_.

Throw the trash away.}

He reaches for the nearby blanket by their feet as he holds Goku with his other arm. { _Scanning item: Fleece Blanket. Contains: 100% microfleece._ } Nodding, he drapes the blanket over his owner, and a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips as Goku instinctively burrows his head further under Sanzo’s chin.

He scans the fluorescent light on the ceiling, and claps twice.

Now enveloped in darkness, Sanzo hums, and splays his hands on Goku’s hair and back.

[ _Good night, Goku._ ]

**^**

Gojyo spurts root beer all over Goku’s face as soon as he sits down with a tall, blond man on their usual spot at the school cafeteria.

“What the actual fuck, man? Who he?”

Goku groans as he blindly grabs for the nearest napkins, and Sanzo, being the obedient deviant, places a handful of tissues in Goku’s hands. He then scans Gojyo’s profile with eyes shifting quickly from purple to blue to red to blue—

[Name: Sha Gojyo. Age: 24. Birthday: November 9, 2021. Occupation: Bartender. Current address: not listed. So. You clean up after other people’s mess.]

“Geh? An android? And whaddya mean I clean up after other people’s me…—um, yeah. I think I do.”

Goku cringes as he plops the tissues on the table, and growls as he throws one at Gojyo’s face, “You also clean up their puke. Also, yeah. I got myself a new android!”

[He spat at you. What do you want me to do to him?] Sanzo quips as he looks at Goku with blue eyes and points at Gojyo.

“Nothing. Nothing at all, Sanzo. Please don’t do violence at school. You’ll get me kicked out.”

[Processing request… All right. I won’t do it here.]

“Anywhere is not good, either. No violence at all, you understand?”

[…Processing request… Request failed to analyze. If he does it again, I can’t guarantee his safety.] Sanzo glances at Gojyo with now bright red eyes that rivals Gojyo’s own, and Goku intervenes, clutching Sanzo’s face in his hands.

“It’s okay, Sanzo. It’s okay. Okay? Please don’t hurt anyone when I’m around, even when I’m not around. Especially when I’m not around.”

The android’s red eyes return to a serene violet, and he blinks slowly, [I’ll take your assurance as a statement that he’s not a threat to your safety, then. But _you_ —] He turns to where Gojyo suddenly raises his hands up and feebly stammers out an apology. [ _You_ are now on my blacklist. Take my words as a warning, fucker.]

Goku slaps his palm to his brow, and hears a lilting laugh behind him.

“It’s lovely today, isn’t it? Ah, Goku. You finally got an android! Congratulations!”

Goku cranes his neck and waves at the smiling man in glasses. Knowing Sanzo will scan the man, he beats the android to it. “His name’s Hakkai. He’s the professor I’m working with.”

Sanzo tilts his head and mentally scans Hakkai. {Name: Cho Hakkai. Age: 24. Birthday: September 21, 2021. Occupation: History and Culinary Professor. Address: Nantoka-Nantoka #121, Subdivision 5, Block 8, Building 5, Kanagawa-ken, Yokohama.}

Goku looks at Sanzo with a blank stare, “You scanned him anyway, didn’t you?”

[Of course. I also find it intriguing that despite not listed as the address, Mr. Gojyo here frequents Mr. Hakkai’s residence on a fairly regular basis, as indicated by his phone lying open on the table with his GPS’s last known location as Mr. Hakkai’s address. Although his location this morning at 8AM changed to that of the address of a brothel down in Machida—]

Gojyo pales, Hakkai’s smile freezes, and Goku quickly stuffs a cheese stick down Sanzo’s mouth, only for the latter to remove it with his fingers.

[I only stated the facts. No need to get worked up on it. Also, I cannot digest human food. The only thing I can digest is white blood, which serves as my fuel and energy source. You can get a month’s supply at PPC. A month’s supply of white blood costs $50 a bundle.]

“San–Sanzo, just please shut up now,” Goku hisses as he slams his hand on the android’s mouth. Hakkai’s smile doesn’t falter.

“So. A brothel down in Machida, eh? And just this morning, too!”

Gojyo’s jaws tremble under the sight of Hakkai’s kind façade and contrasting knuckles being cracked. “’Kai, I can explain—”

“You’re not getting dinner for a week.” Hakkai looks at the redhead with narrowed eyes and a scowl, and he walks away, but not before smiling sweetly at Sanzo the android. “Ah, Sanzo, was it? I’m very pleased to meet you! I hope to see more of you in campus with Goku!”

Sanzo nods, unaware—or simply ignoring—the damaged he has just caused, and returns Hakkai’s greeting with a solemn bow, [Pleased to meet you, too, Mr. Hakkai. Please take care of us.]

Once Hakkai leaves, Goku holds his laughter back as he stands up and stretches his arms overhead, grinning down at Gojyo as he does so. “Welp, looks like my job here is done. Come now, Sanzo!”

Sanzo stands up, and follows Goku out of the cafeteria, blatantly ignoring the heated stares from humans being sent his way. His eyes fixate only on his owner—

—and when Gojyo finally recovers and tries to even out the battlefield of words, Goku has long been gone, and opts to openly laugh with the android.

“You should’ve taken a picture of his stupid face! Man, Hakkai would kill him so bad—!”

[I have already taken the liberty to take a picture of the manroach and have sent it to your email.]

“Oh—”

[And also, should I call on the police if Mr. Hakkai kills him?]

Goku gapes and shakes Sanzo’s shoulders, watching as his eyes turn from purple to blue, “No, Sanzo! It was a joke! A joke! Hakkai wouldn’t actually kill Gojyo! Don’t call the police!”

[Oh,] Sanzo deadpans, and his eyes shift to purple, [well, it’s a… relief, I guess?]

Goku heaves a sigh, and looks up at his android with a smile, “Silly Sanzo. Don’t take things too literally.” Sanzo tilts his head, his eyes shifting briefly to blue and back to purple, and Goku laughs. “For a someone who’s supposed to have infinite knowledge, you sure are innocent when it comes to jokes.”

[Should I take that as a compliment, I wonder?]

“N-you know what, yes. Yes, it’s a compliment,” Goku bites his inner cheek as his hand slides to Sanzo’s, and holds the android’s hand. “Now, care to tell me more about working in PPC?”

**^**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ‘Nantoka-Nantoka’ literally means, ‘Something-Something’. Kanagawa Prefecture is where Minekura-sensei lives.


	3. Chapter 3

Goku spends his morning doing lectures with Hakkai. Being in charge of the powerpoint presentations has never been easier since he had gotten Sanzo. That perfect android even comes with a built-in projector from his eyes—

After each lecture, Goku has to peel the nosy students and the nosy androids away from the new android in school, and does his best to avoid answering unnecessary questions, like—

“How much was it?”

“Did you pay on installment?”

“How’s the specs? I heard it’s top notch!”

[Do you have the latest OS installed? If not, I can help—]

[Never mind that. Hey, can I add you on my contacts?]

[Do you have an account on DroidBook? Add me!]

“Hey, watch it—!”

Goku tenses as his students and their androids keep badgering them with questions. But never mind that. What’s more important is the fact that those students, and even some of the androids, keep trying to touch Sanzo—

—whose eyes are now rapidly spinning between blue and red as he goes rigid with each graze and touch—

[ _Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me. Don’ttouchme—_ ]

Gritting his teeth, Goku pushes the chair behind him and jumps in between Sanzo and the students with their androids, shielding his android from the small, yet morbidly curious mob. He spreads his arms in front of the agitated Sanzo and shrieks, “Stop it right now! He’s getting anxious, you know! Just stop it!”

Hakkai, who had been quietly grading papers from the corner and observing everything through his glasses, finally stands and clears his throat, “Please do realize that androids have feelings, too. They get happy, sad, and nervous—depending on the people he’s dealing with. I’ll ask you now, _children_ , how would you feel if a dozen people would suddenly come up to you and inappropriately touch you in socially unacceptable places for complete strangers to touch?”

The students—and their androids—fall silent and they bow, all of them avoiding Hakkai’s stern gaze. There’s always a certain tone from their professor that they never want to hear—and hearing them being called ‘children’ when they are clearly in their twenties is the least of their worried concerns. The androids, too, bow in shame, for they have too much of a respect for the human professor.

“I suspected as much.” The professor harrumphs, and taps the pile of papers on the desk, “Now, what are you supposed to say?”

The students and the androids all turn to Goku in unison and they bow, “We’re very sorry!”

Goku, however, fights back unneeded tears, and straightens his back as he takes in a deep breath and straightens his tie, and tries not to wail his thanks to Hakkai, “As much as your apology is appreciated, it’s not me who needs the apology.”

The students all glance at Sanzo, whose fingers have seemed to take purchase on the hems of Goku’s now rumpled shirt throughout the whole ordeal. His red eyes shift back to a calm purple, and he hisses as the humans’ eyes fall on him.

“We’re very sorry, Mr. Android!”

[…I have a name, dipshits.]

Stunned into silence, the sophomores and their companions look warily at one another, unaware that this specific android can curse—

“What’s your name, then, sir?” asks one of the now polite students. Sanzo glances at his owner, and back at the humans.

[…Sanzo. My name is Sanzo.]

The collective sigh of relief from the students was cut short as the android continues—

[And if you ever try to touch me without my or my owner’s permission again,] he grunts out, the purple lights now going red, [I’ll make sure you be slapped with a pricey fine on your and your parents’ accounts for damaging private property. And you androids will be met with a virus to your system for a month. Do you understand?]

“Yes, sir!” they shout and bow in unison, suddenly feeling nervousness creep into their cores, and, now satisfied, Sanzo bows and looks down at them from his tall nose.

Goku smiles at the—possibly now traumatized—students, claps once, and dismisses them, earning a smile from Hakkai. “Looks like you’re getting a hang of teaching,” the professor says, tucking away any remaining papers in his folder of ungraded papers. From behind a small desk, Goku puts the toppled chair back in its place.

They leave the room in peace, and Goku feels proud at how some of the students—and even a few androids—cower upon seeing Sanzo now.

Good. They deserve it.

“Getting a hang of it? You mean, I want to hang myself from all this stress!” Goku whines, and Sanzo, ever the analytical android, pauses in his steps and processes his owner’s words.

[Don’t even think about killing yourself, idiot,] is the first thing he says, and Goku blinks back at the android.

“…It’s just an expression.”

[Your ways of expressing yourself are confusing to me. You know I take things literally,] the blond chides with a furrowed brow, and Goku apologizes, telling him he hadn’t really meant any of that.

“But I am stressed, though.”

Sanzo’s eyes whirred to blue as he walks, [May I suggest you go to a spa, then? The mountain sceneries are lovely this time of the year.]

Hakkai casts Goku a knowing smile, but the latter shakes his head and laughs, “Sanzo, I don’t even have enough money to pay this month’s rent. Old man Jiroushin will make me clean the roofs again, I bet.”

The blue LEDs spin and Sanzo stops. [I can clean it for you, if you want,] he says with a raised brow, [I was designed to alleviate my owner’s workload and provide him relief. And you’re my owner.]

“Y-eah, but… I can’t let you do that. You—” Goku swallows the sudden lump in his throat, and remembers the events of last night. “You might get hurt again. What if you fall?”

[If I do fall, a backup memory and another model will suffice and fill in. There’s no need to worry—]

“But I do worry!”

Hakkai blinks, looks around at some of the passersby and onlookers—both teachers and students—and bows in a silent apology in Goku’s place.

“I worry,” the brunet lets out, scratching his arm as he looks away from his android’s curious stare. “Sure, another backup machine and memory can replace your body, but not to me! You’re alive… to me.”

The whirring blue lights stop, and his eyes briefly switch to a deep shade of dark red.

“Sanzo?”

And just as quickly as it had come, the android’s eyes whir back to violet, [Nothing. Thanks for thinking I’m alive.]

“But of course you are. What else would you not be, if not alive?”

Sanzo says nothing in return, and Hakkai decides to interrupt the eventful conversation with a smile.

“Goku, I think it’s time for you to take a break now. You still have two hours before your shift at PPC, right?”

As though shot out of a trance, Goku blinks and beams, “Oh right! Ah, come on, Sanzo! Time to take the train! Thanks, Hakkai!” And Goku takes Sanzo’s hand, dragging the android with him as they run, leaving Hakkai to wave off the hastily retreating pair.

“I wonder when Goku will realize…” the professor whispers to himself with a calm smile.

**^**

A regular day in PPC consists of newcomers barging in and throwing questions about androids at whoever unfortunate employee happens to be on shift at the time, and it just so happens that it’s Goku’s turn to face the clients. Having only been briefed by Sanzo and Koumyou for a few hours, he feels unprepared to handle such a task, and mentally feels like crying at each question thrown at him.

He keeps eyeing the clock, waiting for it to strike noon, and when it does, he bows to the customers in line, puts out a ‘On Break’ sign on the counter, and zooms past the potential buyers, ducking straight into the workbench where Koumyou repairs and makes the androids.

“Is it always a battlefield out there?” Goku heaves out as he takes quick gulps of water that Sanzo has handed to him. Sitting on a stool with a screwdriver in hand, Koumyou laughs as he pats the back of a child-sized, female android.

“You’re good to go,” he sing-songs, watches as the android twirls around, and smiles at her creator.

[Thank you, Prof. Koumyou!] she says in joy, and hops down the table to retrieve her clothes.

Koumyou notices Goku turn away as soon as the female android dresses up, and he smiles, “Yes, Goku. That’s an everyday scene in PPC, which is why there’s a huge turnover of part-timers. They can’t handle the amount of stress. You’re the first one in three months. Before you, it’s always Ukoku who handles everything. Sad, huh?”

Goku whines, and sniffs back his snot and blinks his tears away. Thinking how hard it must have been for only two people managing a large amount of customers, Goku suddenly feels a great sense of awe for his employers, “I guess you do need all the help you can get—” He tips the last glass of cool water and breathes out slowly, “Well, time to return to work!”

Sanzo and Koumyou blink, [Your break isn’t done until—]

“My break can wait. Those potential customers can’t. Ah, Sanzo?”

The android tilts his head—an adorable habit of his, it seems—and asks, [Yes?]

“Please do make me something that will fill my stomach. I’m going to be starving after this.”

Goku grins as Sanzo’s eyes whir to blue, his voice a tad lower as he speaks, [Understood. I’ll prepare a meal for you, then.]

To Koumyou’s surprise, Goku jumps back to where Sanzo stands by the water dispenser, and wraps his arms around the android’s neck. “Thanks! You’re the best!”

The brunet gives him a warm smile and a peck on the cheek—blatantly ignoring the low whistle coming from Koumyou—and bounces away, leaving Sanzo to touch his face, and feels his cheeks go warm.

[Analyzing… Cause of sudden rise of temperature: Osculation on the left cheek.]

From behind him, Koumyou laughs out a sigh, “Sanzo, you don’t have to be so technical about it. Just say it’s a kiss, and all will be fine.”

The LEDs spin to life as Sanzo processes the newfound data, [A kiss… Why did he do that?]

“He likes you, perhaps?” Koumyou suggests with a shrug.

[What do I do with this information?] Sanzo blinks, unsure of what to do next. And the android maker almost gushes at how innocent his deviant creation is sometimes.

“Well, you could... _reciprocate_ , for starters.”

Sanzo almost pouts at the loss and the hidden insinuation that escapes his train of thought, [Why should I reciprocate?]

Koumyou looks around and holds his palms out with a shrug, “Well, so he’ll know that you appreciate his efforts of keeping you healthy and happy. Isn’t that what he wants of you?”

Sanzo hums, and takes in a breath as he looks around, his blue eyes returning to violet, [Well... Yes, he did say that.]

Koumyou’s eyes widen in mild surprise, and he holds back a wide smile, “See? Show him how you appreciate him when it’s time to go home in... five hours. Okay?”

**^**

“Uh, Sanzo? What are you doing?”

Sanzo ignores Goku’s question, and instead opts to bury his fingers in the brown locks as they ride the train home. There are few people on the train, so Goku shouldn’t be embarrassed by having his android show any semblance of affection for him, but—

Goku stays seated. Sanzo remains standing. [In case anyone would harm you,] the android reasons, and Goku fights back the small flutter in his stomach at the gesture.

The blond’s fingers feel warm against Goku’s scalp, the soft pads massaging deeply into the right spots, and Goku sighs in content as his eyes flutter close.

Sanzo stays quiet as he observes his owner, and blinks as he processes Goku’s reactions. Purple LEDs turn to blue, and Sanzo saves all the tiniest changes on Goku’s facial expressions.

The gentle, feather-light kiss of lashes against his cheeks. The soft, yet trembling breaths from plump lips. The faint tinge of pink on his tanned cheeks. The minute parting of his lips, where warm air passes through, its warmth caressing Sanzo’s wrists, which send his sensors into hypersensitivity—

“Don’t stop,” Goku whispers, his eyes still closed, and Sanzo hums, mimics his owner’s parted lips, and drifts his hand to Goku’s jaw.

[I don’t intend to,] he murmurs, his voice a soft rumble to Goku’s ears, and the human giggles, opens his eyes, and gazes at bright, purple eyes.

“Why do you do this?” the brunet quietly asks as he buries his cheek against the softness of his android’s palm, his eyes drifting closed once more.

And finally, he replies, his voice still low and rumbling against Goku’s sensitive ears.

[I like doing this. It feels... nice,] he says in all simplicity, and Goku, in his calm trance, accepts Sanzo’s answer with a nod and a lazy smile, relishing the feel of his thumb gliding down his cheekbones.

The deep amber hue that Goku’s eyes hold makes Sanzo’s system grind to a split second halt, and in that moment, the android’s eyes switch to blue.

{Saving image... Filename: IdiotOwner01.jpg

Save to Location: Drive D:/IdiotOwner’sFace

...File saved.}

Sanzo bites back a small grin, as he locks the folder with a password that only he knows—not even Goku nor his creators can ever access it.

Sanzo’s internal temperature suddenly feels warmer than usual, and he doesn’t exactly pinpoint why, but he relishes the feeling, nonetheless.

He feels Goku fall asleep under his touch, and the android nudges his head to where his abdomen lies, his fingers still threaded in the hickory strands.

**^**

“Sanzo, this is so cute! I want it! Can I have it?”

Goku bounces on the balls of his feet as he squeals at the fluffy, robotic seal displayed on the window on PPC. He has been working at the store for a month now, and he’s slowly getting used to the influx of customers flocking to the store everyday. At dead hours, however, few people come to the stores, and Goku has ample time to unwind at work. Currently, he has just finished sweeping outside the store, and has laid eyes on the latest robotic animals.

[You can have it if you want. If you have enough funds to buy it, that is.]

Goku pouts at the white and fluffy seal with the large, round eyes. He smiles at how its tiny tongue sticks out, and how its eyes follows Goku’s every move. The ￥202,000 of a robot seal is too much for Goku’s broke pockets, though.

Biting his lip after a few moments of thinking, and resigns that he can never actually afford to buy another android without working himself to death, Goku giggles with an impish look on his youthful face, and a minute twitch forms on Sanzo’s temple.

The android frowns, and he senses his system halting for a millisecond as his eyes shift to blue.

Sanzo gulps, and cannot help but to keep a record of that face.

{Saving image... Filename: IdiotOwner30.jpg

Save to Location: Drive D:/IdiotOwner’sFace

...File saved.}

“Sanzo?”

The little shrimp asks with a tilt of his head, and Sanzo’s wires go into overdrive.

[...Don’t do that.]

“Do what?”

The android grinds his teeth, and he gasps out, [ _That_. That face you’re making.]

The door to the shop opens, and Ukoku comes out with his arms outstretched. “Break time!” he chirps as he cracks a knot out of his shoulder. Goku and Sanzo look at him with a blank stare, and Ukoku pauses. “Am I... interrupting something?”

“No?”

[ _Yes_.]

Ukoku takes a step back with his palms raised upward, a knowing smile now forming on his lips as he looks at Sanzo’s stoic stance. “Alright, then. I’ll uh, leave you two alone,” the storeowner says with a large grin as he glances at Goku. “Do keep him company. He needs love.”

“What?”

[Fuck off, old man!]

Ukoku laughs at the insult, and returns to the shop, a loud, “Hey, everyone! Guess what I just saw!” now echoing from the inside.

Sanzo grumbles with his palm to his face, and Goku, still oblivious to it all, tries to ask but gets cut off immediately.

[Don’t ask. Also, why would you want another robot when you can’t even take care of me properly?]

Goku gasps, “Excuse me? How could you say that? I even cooked for you!”

[That was fucking noodles-turned-charcoal, idiot. I don’t need food. And that was just one time. It doesn’t count.]

“Picky android!”

[Stupid monkey!]

“I’m not a monkey!”

[You drool and sleep with your mouth open, so you’re a monkey!]

“What does that have to do with anything?”

The passersby whisper and giggle amongst themselves as they see the human and the android bickering, and, Sanzo, being irritable by the nature of his program, gnashes his teeth when he notices the prying looks, and shields Goku on instinct, hiding him from the people and the androids’ eyes.

“...I thought you’re mad?” Goku asks, his voice muffled under the coat that Sanzo wears.

[I’m not mad. It’s just the way I’m programmed.]

“The deviant in you, you mean?”

[...Yeah. That.] Sanzo brushes a stray lock of hair away from the tanned cheeks, and he analyzes his owner’s temperature. [You’re getting cold. I’ll take you inside.]

Goku nods absentmindedly, his face still half-buried in his android’s sternum.

The human refuses to admit that the android’s heartbeat calms him down.

Sanzo drapes his hand on Goku’s shoulder and ushers him inside, and looks back at any remaining onlookers. Seeing none, he deems himself satisfied, and as the doors close, he smoothens and buries his fingers in Goku’s hair once more.

{Current task:

Make stupid owner forget the stupid seal.}

[What do you want to eat tonight?] Sanzo asks in a calm voice, and he feels a spark of triumph flow in his wires as Goku suddenly beams at him.

“I’ll take whatever you recommend!” he jovially coos, and it takes all of the all-too-deviant of an android not to give him a reply that would sprout tendrils of corruption in Goku’s otherwise innocent visage.

[...I’ll take the liberty to cook and heat up delicious things for you, then.]

Goku laughs, and wraps his arms around Sanzo.

“I can’t wait!”

Sanzo leers, his narrowed purple eyes turning to a deep shade of red.

{Current task:

Make the stupid owner forget the stupid seal.

...Task completed.}

**^**

Sanzo has been under Goku’s care for five months now, and, unbeknownst to his owner, the android has already saved folders upon folders of pictures and videos of his ‘idiot owner’ in his memory—memories that are encrypted and password-protected—memories that Sanzo accesses when he has the time to be alone, or when he has the time to plan out how tomorrow’s events will be based on the weather.

In the wee hours of dawn, Goku’s head lays on Sanzo’s arm, unaware of the pair of eyes that record and save his every intake of soft breathing. In the darkness of the bare room, Sanzo’s eyes dim to a midnight blue hue, recording and saving all the details of his owner, memorizing and committing all that embodies Goku in his vast database.

The minute touches as the human moves and tosses and turns in his sleep, the soft breathing, the warmth emanating from his body—Sanzo memorizes them all.

He recalls, at one point, that his owner had started to respond to minute touches on his face before he wakes up.

And so, in his vast, ever-evolving database filled with deviant algorithms, he has reacted to what he has deemed as acceptable behavior from his owner’s perspective.

The android had been doing it to him ever since.

His lips part, and he kisses the unsuspecting human’s cheeks.

Sanzo concludes that he likes doing it to his human, and so he does it again.

And again.

And again.

He stops mid-kiss as his exploration leads him to Goku’s parted lips, and Sanzo touches them, his fingers hesitant as they meet the plump flesh—

The alarms in Sanzo’s system stuns him for a moment, and he pauses.

[ _It’s now 5:00AM_ ,] he murmurs, and he frowns, his current task now unfinished.

But—

{Current task:

Wake idiot owner up.}

He feels emboldened, feels his ventilation pumps work twice as hard as he leans in—

—and kisses Goku’s lips.

His kisses grow quicker, longer, bolder, as he peppers his human with a dance of his lips on skin—

The beginnings of Goku’s opening eyes doesn’t stop Sanzo—it only makes him go bolder, as he licks and parts Goku’s lips with his tongue, now making Goku wide awake and aware he is being kissed.

The pliant tongue prods, silently asking for entrance, something that Sanzo would never initiate on a regular basis—

—but what he’s doing right now is not a part of his regular tasks, only… a part of his whims, his sudden mood for exploration, or so he convinces himself.

And explore, he does.

Goku whines in the android’s mouth and slackens his own, and Sanzo moans as finally, _finally_ , he is granted permission—

In the break of dawn, their silhouettes collide, their hands join, curl, and grip at each other’s tousled locks. Their mouths entwine and their tongues swirl in a lewd dance, their breaths heaving with every grind and groan—

And when Goku parts for air, Sanzo stills, licking his lips at the sight of his disheveled owner, his memory recording and saving every scene and sound and scent and taste and touch—

“Hello,” Goku whispers, still breathless as his hands tremble and musses up Sanzo’s hair with a small smile.

[Good morning. It’s now 5:15AM. Time to start the day.]

He says it so casually, so calmly, that Goku cannot help but laugh.

“You really like doing this, huh?” he quips, a playful smile tugging on his lips as he wraps his arms around Sanzo’s neck, and nuzzles the warmth settling there.

The android hums, and tries to bide time, refusing to answer as he twists the loose coils on Goku’s hair, and tries to look at anywhere but the inquisitive glint reflected on those golden eyes. Sanzo’s dark red eyes slide close as he relishes on the feel of those slender digits toying with his locks.

[Do you want me to keep doing it?] he breathes out in a whisper, humming as Goku glides his hand on his golden hair.

“I should ask you that. Do you want to?”

[Yes,] Sanzo replies a bit too quickly for his liking, although his blatant honesty makes Goku tilt his head and smile from ear to ear.

“Keep doing it, then.”

Just like that, Sanzo’s current dark red eyes switch to a whirring, bright blue, and his current tasks refresh anew.

{Current task:

Wake idiot owner up.

...Task completed.

New tasks:

Set alarm earlier than usual.

Keep waking idiot owner up with kisses daily.}

Sanzo’s breath hitches as a new tab pops up in his system, flashing incessantly.

{...Morning sex (optional).}

“Sanzo, you okay?”

Sanzo clutches onto Goku’s shirt, and nods.

[I’m writing down tasks that will satisfy your requests and my needs. It’s almost done.]

Goku nods, too trusting of the android currently plotting his imminent and sweet corruption. He observes the way Sanzo’s Adam’s apple bobs—its action too real for him, and an urge crawls from his veins, wanting to lick it and feel it against his tongue—

Never mind that he’s an android. Never mind that he’s not made of real flesh and that everything is ‘artificial’ in the people’s eyes—

Sanzo speaks, his voice calm, [It’s done.]

—for Goku, he’s as alive as he is.

“Could you show me what you’ve planned for me?”

Sanzo feels the white blood in his heart stop.

Goku raises his chest to the android’s as he gives him a coy smile, and Sanzo almost groans.

[You’ll be late.]

Goku draws Sanzo’s face close to his lips and grins.

“I don’t care. Just show me.”

Sanzo’s hand travels to Goku’s waist, and dips his mouth to his owner’s ear.

[ _Let me indulge you, then_.]

When Goku and Sanzo arrive at work a bit late that day, Ukoku questions them why.

“I had to charge Sanzo for a few hours before we left,” he explains, and Ukoku simply hums with a knowing smile when the android in question turns his back to Ukoku’s prying eyes.

Goku looks to the side, clamping his lips and fiddling with his fingers as Sanzo immediately starts working without a word as he takes over to clean the sleeping androids’ shelves, the slight smile on his lips staying there for the remainder of the day.

**^**


	4. Chapter 4

 

**^**

Koumyou hums and silently smiles as he watches his creation and his employee interact with each other, just like how a parent would to any potential suitors to their precious child—memorizing and judging every detail with a hint of pride whenever their child would smile.

And how Sanzo smiles—!

Koumyou observes how Sanzo curses at Goku, only for Goku to return the curse tenfold. Right now, Goku tries to reach for the tiny android—now named Nataku—on Sanzo’s shoulder, and Sanzo, feeling mischievous, takes the tiny android and raises it far from Goku’s reach, just to mock his owner’s height.

Koumyou feels his heart swell as Goku, despite looking angry, starts to cry while laughing at the same time—

—and Sanzo’s shoulders shake, the tiny beginnings of mirth seeping to his upturned lips.

“Well, would you look at that,” the blond murmurs to Ukoku, who’s been sitting and oiling up tools beside Koumyou. “ _Our little boy is actually smiling!_ ”

Ukoku doesn’t even try to hide his smirk as he looks at the aforementioned android through the glasses slipping from his nose. “And here you tell me we can’t sell him.”

“Well, _technically_ , we didn’t—”

“Koumyou, that’s beside the point.”

The blond man laughs, and swallows a bubbling guffaw as Goku kicks Sanzo’s shin in an attempt to get the palm-sized android.

Goku squeals and laughs as the tiny android grabs onto his ears as Goku runs from Sanzo, effectively making the irate android catch up to him.

“Sanzo, you’re cheating!”

[Say your prayers, you idiot monkey—!]

The doors to PPC open, and in comes a customer who sees Goku being pinned to the ground by an angry-looking android.

Being caught unawares at the compromising position, however, doesn’t even faze Goku, as he smiles even when being pinned down to the floor by his own android.

“Hi! Welcome to Personal Partner Computers! How may I help you?”

The customer, a tall man with black hair, steps back at the nonchalance of the employee seemingly being harassed by an android. “Um, is this an android store?”

[Obviously,] Sanzo replies just as nonchalant as his owner, as he regards the customer with judging, blue eyes. [Mr. Homura Taishi. Professor at C.L.Uni. Good afternoon. I surmise you’re looking for an android? Since no android seems to be under your registration.]

Mr. Homura stands just a tad straighter upon hearing an android mention his name, and he straightens his tie as he steps in the store.

“Yes, I’m looking for an android,” he says, unsure if he has to address the scene before him.

Goku, however, lightly pushes Sanzo away from him. The latter obeys, and helps Goku up. Sanzo then stands beside his owner, his system now on standby mode as he crosses his arms and looks at the customer with a frown.

“You’ve come to the right place then, sir! What type would you like?” Goku asks with a smile.

Mr. Homura blinks, and looks back and forth between Goku and the android. “Just a tiny one will suffice, thank you.”

Goku nods, and lays out his palm for little Nataku to step on it. “This little one is the NT013 series, the first of his kind. He’s lightweight, so portability is easy. He can fit in your pocket, or just sit on your head and shoulder just fine. Just be mindful if you have sensitive ears, as he has to grab onto something when you’re walking while he’s sitting on your shoulder.” Goku smiles at Mr. Homura, and regards his business attire with a nod, “Or if you don’t want him to hang onto your head or shoulder, he could fit on your coat pocket well. Just—make sure he can have enough space to breathe.”

“I thought androids don’t need to breathe?”

“If their noses are blocked, or if their chests are constricted for a long time—say, three minutes is a long time for them—the pumps in their systems which serve as their lungs, and therefore their instrument to breathe, will overheat, and will cause other parts to also overheat, which will damage your android in a certain amount of time. And you wouldn’t want that, right?”

The sudden sternness in Goku’s voice made Mr. Homura pause in thought, “...No, of course I wouldn’t. I-I understand.” He checks and opens his breastpocket, “Can I try it?”

Goku glances at Ukoku and Koumyou, who both shrug, and he looks back at the customer. “Yeah, sure! Nataku, jump there—...His footwear makes cute noises when he jumps, too! So you’ll know when and where he’s moving about when you’re not looking. Because of his tiny size, his specialized shoes serve like how a bell with a collar would around a cat’s neck would be. You can also modify its sound. The default sound is the ‘squeaky’ sound. It’s supposed to sound as cute as possible!”

Homura nods as little Nataku settles in and tries to find a comfortable position in his pocket, and when he does, the little android pops up from the pocket with a raised hand.

[Mission accomplished! I have successfully landed on the customer’s pocket!] he says with a large grin, and Ukoku, who has been observing the android, coos and gushes in the corner—“ _That’s my boy!_ ”—

“He’s so cute when he does that...!—Um, oh yes!” Goku starts, noticing that Homura has yet to remove his attention from the shuffling little android in his pocket, “You can upgrade his memory from 5PB up to 64PB. He costs ¥396,000—as it says on the tag on his white robe. You can turn him on or off by lightly touching the blue, diamond button on his forehead... But uh, I suggest you don’t do it now, since, well, you haven’t bought him yet.”

“Oh, right,” Mr. Homura says meekly, letting out an embarrassed laugh as he takes his finger away from Nataku’s forehead. “It’s just that, he’s quite adorable.”

“That he is. He also comes with a fountain pen, if you like to be fancy. He equips it, you see.”

“Excuse me, did you say ‘equip’?”

Goku ignores the question and grins, “Nataku, get your pen, please.”

[Yes, sir!] and he hops from the pocket, to Goku’s palm, to Sanzo’s shoulder, and onto the edge of the glass shelf beside Ukoku. The little android runs to his shelf—his feet making squeaky noises as he does so—and grabs a fountain pen, and hauls it as high as he can. [Mission accomplished! Equipped the fountain pen!]

Goku claps for the little android as he bows with the pen in hand. “Ain’t he the cutest thing? So. What do you say?”

Mr. Homura holds his breath as little Nataku twirls the pen around with his tiny arms, smiling happily all the while. The little android’s white robe with golden hems seem to contribute to its features of being adorable, along with its large, bright and golden eyes, and that long, gray hair tied in a bun—

He looks at the employee with a passive face, and said employee looks at him with an expectant smile.

From the side, Koumyou takes pictures of little Nataku with his phone, cooing at the android all the while.

“Fine, then. I’ll take it,” Mr. Homura finally says, giving in after seeing the tiny android dance around with the fountain pen in its arms.

“‘Him’.”

The customer pauses as he pulls out his wallet, his credit card now perched in between his fingers, “Excuse me?”

“‘Him’. Please refer to the android as ‘him’. He’s clearly a boy,” Goku clarifies as he places his hands behind his back. Beside him, Sanzo looks at his owner with a quiet approval.

The customer scratches his head with his credit card, and looks away briefly, “Oh. Right. Sorry. Um. Nataku, was it?”

The aforementioned android stops his dance, and looks at the customer, [Yes?]

“Will you go with me?” Mr. Homura asks, and Goku purses his lips.

“I’m afraid you can’t have that specific one. But we do have a newer stock. Nataku, get one from the back,” he says, and raises his palms up as the customer tries to say something. “Don’t worry. The newer stock will still have the same features as the one you’re seeing on him now. You can’t have this specific NT013 one because—”

[I’m a prototype!] Nataku squeaks out from the back, and he heaves a box with the same height as he has, and places it on the shelf. Nataku takes his fountain pen and climbs on the box, and stabs it twice. He opens up the box flaps, and reveals another tiny android with the same face as he has. Nataku faces the customer, and explains, [This NT013 has all the same functions and settings as I have. The only difference we have is the name. Mr. Goku there named me. Isn’t that nice?]

Nataku sways on the balls of his feet as he looks up at Mr. Homura with a wide smile, and the latter looks away with a pout.

“Yeah, it’s nice.” Turning to Goku, he speaks with renewed confidence, “This new one from the box, can I have... him?”

“Oh yeah, sure! Lemme just get the receipt...” Goku comes over behind the glass shelf and retrieves a stack of receipts. While doing so, Koumyou comes up to Mr. Homura with a friendly smile.

“Thank you for buying one of my NT013 series. Please take care of him well,” he says, bowing to the customer.

The customer nods and smiles, and looks to where the sleeping android stands on his charging station. He lightly taps Nataku’s forehead, “I will. He resembles a tiny animal, I think.” He turns to Goku and hands in his card. “This larger one,” he says, pointing a finger to Sanzo, “is he also a prototype?”

[You’re correct,] Sanzo says, his chin now held high as he speaks, [I used to belong to my creators, but I have been… delivered, as a gift, to that human processing your purchase.]

“A gift?” the customer asks, his eyebrow now raised as he glances at Koumyou.

“…It’s a long story,” Koumyou laughs out, waving his hand in front of him frantically, “anyway, I hope you’ll be happy with your new android. Would you like to set it up now?”

Mr. Homura, sensing the mood, nods, smacks his lips, and shrugs with a smile, “Sure, why not?”

“Great! Nataku, if you would, please?”

Goku stamps the receipt and hands it to Homura with a smile. Nataku salutes Koumyou and places his hand on the sleeping android’s forehead.

[You’re awake now.]

NT013’s shoulders jolt as he slowly opens his eyes, and smiles at the first human he recognizes, [Hello, Creator. How are you?]

“Hello, NT013. I’m doing good, thank you. This man here will be your owner from now on,” Koumyou gestures at Homura, who waves at the little android. “Would you like to give him a name now, Mr. Homura?”

Mr. Homura ponders, and glances at where Nataku stands, idly swaying on his feet, “Can I name him after Nataku? Or maybe I can change it a bit… Ah. I know.”

Koumyou nods, “Alright, then. NT013, register your name.”

NT013 blinks, his amber eyes now shifting to blue, [What will my name be?]

Mr. Homura clears his throat, and whispers to Koumyou, “ _There’s some voice recognition software installed on him, right?_ ” The blond man nods, and the customer sighs in relief, “Right. Your name is Natsuku.”

Natsuku does to Mr. Homura the exact things Sanzo has done to Goku months prior—retinal scan, fingerprint scan, facial and body recognition, until—

Koumyou hums, and looks at a puzzled Homura, “Do you want him to do his other tasks to complete the registration? Don’t worry about the password bit. You can do that one later.”

Goku has grown used to it by now, and has also grown fond of the prototype androids residing in PPC. There’s Sanzo the snappy android, Nataku the jovial android—

Mr. Homura laughs loud for the first time since he had entered the shop as Natsuku jumps straight onto the customer’s nose and hugs it.

From the alcove, another android appears. A busty, ginger-haired teenage android by the name of Lirin skips outside the storage room and hops straight to where Ukoku sits.

[Hi, the repairs are done now!] she says with a snappy salute and a bright smile, and Mr. Homura, seeing the android for the first time, waves at her, which she returns with much enthusiasm.

“Are all the androids here so... lively?” the man asks, trying not to look cross-eyed as Natsuku grabs and pinches his owner’s skin as he climbs onto the man’s head.

Ukoku thanks Lirin, and she happily skips away, and he says, “Not all of them, you know. That one there, the first of the Sanzo series, is a hell of a stick in the mud, if you ask me.”

Sanzo snarls and gives Ukoku the finger, and Ukoku laughs.

“See what I mean? There’s also another female prototype I’d like to show you, but she’s currently charging at the back.”

“Here’s your card, sir. Thank you for your purchase. Have a nice day!” Goku smiles. The customer returns the smile and grabs the pamphlets accompanied with the box. Before leaving, Goku gives one final handshake to the little android now sitting on Mr. Homura’s shoulder. “Take care of yourself and your owner, okay? Make him laugh and make him happy, just like what Nataku does to us.”

Natsuku blinks, processes the information, and bounces on his feet. Mr. Homura cups his hand under his right shoulder just in case the android falls.

[Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Mr. Homura just as how my brother’s taking care of our creators! Bye bye!]

Homura and Natsuku leaves, both of them waving at the bowing Goku and the smiling professors.

“Well, hopefully that’s another satisfied customer!” Ukoku says, stretching his arms overhead. “Lirin!” he calls out to the android screwing a joint to another android’s shoulder. “Take a break. You’ve been at the storage for the whole morning.”

Lirin cranes her neck from the door and salutes with a grin, [Aye, aye, Captain!]

“Sanzo, just four more hours!” Goku sing-songs as he packs the box and plastic bags away.

“Are you going somewhere, Goku?” Koumyou asks while putting Nataku inside his open glass shelf.

“Yeah, I’m going to check out the new restaurant near here. Would you like to come with us?” Goku asks, giggling as he places the tiny box on Sanzo’s head.

“In that case, we should wrap up early! Ah, Ukoku, do you want to go with Goku and Sanzo? We’re going to eat out!” Koumyou claps in excitement.

“Sure,” Ukoku grumbles as he tweaks a screw in a child-sized android on a table. “Good. This one’s done! I just need to attach the skin.”

[I’ll help,] Lirin jumps in, a soldering iron now cradled in her small hands.

The glasses slip from Ukoku’s nose and gives her a tired stare, to which she returns with a laugh. “You’re on your break, Lirin. Don’t give me that ‘But I don’t get tired!’ laugh again.”

“Ukoku, just do that tomorrow. Bring Lirin with us!” he hears Koumyou call out with barely concealed excitement, and Ukoku gives in.

Lirin jumps in glee upon being allowed to go with her creators. Once their shifts are over, they close the shop early to go out.

[It’s a Friday, after all,] Sanzo reasons, and for once, allowing Goku to hold his hand in public. The professors chat among themselves about the wonders of technology around them, often sharing their opinions on how to improve the androids in any way they can. And Lirin and Nataku chirp on about, often going from shop to shop, admiring the bright lights and the different things their human creators have offered.

They reach the restaurant that Goku has been raving about, and Ukoku takes the lead.

“For three people and two androids. And one wee one.”

The lady—a human—nods, “Will you be requesting for charging stations?”

“Nah,” Ukoku says, shaking his head, “but I’ll request for a smoking booth, if I could.”

“Certainly. Right this way, please.”

The lady leads them to a room at the back, where a sign says, ‘For Mixed’ on the top of the doors.

On their way there, stares follow their every move.

Ukoku and Koumyou, however, shrug them off as soon as Goku notices the telltale whispers from some of the seated customers as the glass doors behind them close.

“Never mind them. They’re just jealous,” Ukoku huffs with a wave. “They don’t know the cost of progress.”

“I don’t know Mr. Ukoku,” Goku mumbles as he sits down and cranes his neck to where some of the patrons are still looking at them with judging eyes. “They kinda look pissed and I don’t know why.”

[They seem to tolerate us. Some humans, I mean,] Sanzo observes, glancing at the patrons outside the room with his blue, LED gaze. [I don’t mind. As long as they’re not openly hostile towards us.]

Goku frowns, an expression that Sanzo notices but chooses not comment on, and takes the proffered glass of water on the table. “I’ll throw wrenches at them if they’re hostile to you.”

The doors to the mixed room opens once more, and a group of noisy men enter, laughing and joking crudely about anything and everything.

When their orders arrive, Goku and his employers try their best to eat in piece, with their androids sitting and idly chatting beside them, all the while looking out for them.

On their second round of food, however, a glass of beer from the booth behind them hurls on top of Sanzo’s head, spilling its contents on his hair and onto Goku’s pristine white shirt.

Time seems to stop as Sanzo’s eyes turn bright red.

[ _Oh, it’s fucking on now._ ]

Goku hasn’t got time to react and stop Sanzo from hauling himself onto the booth behind them and land a punch on the unfortunate person’s face—

Ukoku leans back on the lounge and slurps on his iced tea as he watches the unfolding chaos with barely concealed mirth. Koumyou and the other androids try to stop Goku who also has joined in on the fight with Sanzo—

“Fuck, man, watch it! I didn’t mean to, shit!”

The familiar voice snaps Goku out of his hangry state, stopping his fist mid-punch as Sanzo lands his elbow on the man—

Goku’s lip curls in a snarl as the man whose clothes he’s balled in a fist raises his hands in surrender.

“Geh, Gojyo?”

**^**

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is mainly inspired by 60% Detroit: Become Human (great game, I tell ya!), and 40% Chobits (great anime, I tell ya!). Also, prices have been adjusted to Japanese Yen.


End file.
